Image: DAVID POHL
Narcissism has long gotten a bad rap. Its unseemly reputation dates back at least to ancient Greek mythology, in which the handsome hunter Narcissus (who undoubtedly would be gloating over his present-day fame) discovered his own reflection in a pool of water and fell in love with it. Narcissus was so transfixed by his image that he died staring at it. In 1914 Sigmund Freud likened narcissism to a sexual perversion in which romantic attraction is directed exclusively to the self. Contemporary views are hardly more flattering. Enter the words “narcissists are” into Google, and the four most popular words completing the phrase are “stupid, “evil,” “bullies” and “selfish.”
In 2008 psychologist Jean M. Twenge of San Diego State University and her colleagues found that narcissism scores have been climbing among American college students in the U.S. for the past few decades. Although the data are controversial, these scholars argue that we are living in an increasingly narcissistic culture.
Some of the opprobrium heaped on narcissists is surely deserved. Yet research paints a more nuanced picture. Although narcissists can be difficult and at times insufferable, they can also make effective leaders and performers. Moreover, because virtually all of us share at least a few narcissistic traits, we may be able to learn something about ourselves from understanding them.
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5 Comments
Add CommentI have found it much healthier & better to stay far away from narcissists as well as psychopaths ans sociopaths.
Reply | Report Abuse | Link to thisThe trick is to be able to recognize them soon enough .
Narcissists are: Not pleasant to be around unless you are a masochist.
Reply | Report Abuse | Link to thisWell said .
Reply | Report Abuse | Link to thisI have a better conclusion than the author. Since narcissists constantly brag and lie about accomplishments and claim credit they are not due, it is better to institutionalize them if not kill them outright. This particularly applies to celebrities and politicians as well as business executives.
Reply | Report Abuse | Link to thisA lot of what gets interpreted as narcissism is more an awareness of how appearances impact success. I also think a lot of it is based on mass media promoting celebrities in such an unrealistic way.
I'm an *echo narcissist*...one of the hurt vulnerable kind. In fact those who know me say I look kind 'o scared--a *please don't hurt me* kind 'o look. It comes from being deeply rejected during attachment-bonding time in infancy. What the hell's that mean? My enraged father punctured my mother's water at birth...in my face. Nice welcome,huh? I froze there emotionally. My mother tried to kill me several times in the first 2 years of life. I EXPECT rejection. A narci's defense is self-adoration to deny the pain of rejection. The preening thing is about hiding behind one's appearance to manufacture a way to fake one's self-worth--there is a severe lack thereof.
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